Lovejoy's Requiem

At the Scott Antique Market last month, I was browsing around a table when I found this in a box with a sign that read "$1 each".    It was a pretty slow show, and this was about the only dollar I spent during that visit, but it was a pretty good one.  This is a Dur-O-Lite, and one of the neat things about it is the advertising on the side . . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company

Less Moore

Here's a picture of the Moore clutch pencil box set, from page 103 of The Catalogue, and Eversharp's adaptation of the same design to the Skyline form, from page 76.    The gold filled examples, and one of the Eversharp plastic ones I have, are marked with patent number 2,358,091, which was issued to Charles K. Lovejoy on January 22, 1944 and assigned to The Moore Pen Company.

The connection between the two wasn't easy to establish, before I'd found the metal Eversharp that was a dead ringer for the Moore.  On the plastic pencils, the last number of the patent is omitted, so it reads "235809."   Was it truly a mistake, or was Eversharp less than thrilled announcing to the world that it had licensed Moore's design?  I don't have an answer to that, but I am skeptical that it was an accident. 

I digress.  This article isn't about Eversharp.

At the Ohio Show last November, I dropped by the Pendemonium booth and found that Lovejoy's design was also adapted to a demi sized pencil . . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company

One for the Most "Secure" Stockbroker

Stockbroker's pencils are a special breed.  Unlike the giant Eagle pencils, which were a ridiculously large novelty pencil, Stockbroker's pencils are ridiculously large expressions of many power.   They are nearly as unwieldly in the hand, and the lead is bigger than found anywhere else.  Some, like the Mabie Todd example I blogged about recently, are cast out of a brick of 14 karat gold. 

In short (no pun intended), stockbroker's pencils signify loud and clear, that the owner is overcompensating for something.

Which brings us to today's find, which Joe Nemecek turned up at the Baltimore show and allowed me to photograph . . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company

Joe Beat Me Out This Time

Back on December 9, I provided closer views of the enamel-over-brass checking pencils made by Wahl Eversharp from 1922 until around 1929.   Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to track down a blue one.  However, at the Baltimore show, Joe Nemecek was showing off his loot to me on Sunday, and here's one of his finds . . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company

Filling Out The Transitional Family

On March 1, I introduced a pair of Wahl Eversharp pencils that appear to be the "missing link" between Eversharp's flattop era and the Equipoised.  Of these, one had a side clip and the other had a "military clip" mounted high on the cap. 

At the Baltimore show, I tracked down a ringtop. . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company

A Marvelusk Pencil

After spending all day Saturday at the Baltimore show, Janet and I decided to get an early start heading back to Ohio, so that we could enjoy the sights and stop off at some interesting places on the way.  One of the ones we made a point to see this time was the Hancock Antique Mall in Maryland.

Hancock lies right off of Route 68 where it dead ends into Route 70.   We pass by it every year on our way to and from the DC Supershow in August, and every time we see the billboard by the side of the highway, we think that we should stop next time -- because it seems that every time we pass that billboard it's either close to or after closing time.

This time,  however, we were driving past at around noon, so we decided to make a stop of it.    The Hancock exit is an overly complicated affair, and were it not for Janet's GPS, I'm sure I would have stopped more than once to get my bearings and ask for directions.   A few twists and turns later, and we found the large, grey metal building in which the mall is housed.  It even includes a pizza parlor, a couple of professional offices and a flea market, too. 

Well, the flea market and the antique mall were in the same space, with the fleas on one end and the antiques on the other.  The dividing line wasn't as sharp as you'd expect; however, as you worked from the antiques end closer and closer to the spectacle that is a flea market, the goods on display tended to degenerate from antiques to garage sale to, well, fleas.

On that border between the two, in a showcase full mostly of model trains, was this . . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company

The Prettiest Eversharp Clip

Today I'm introducing another neat find from the Baltimore show, but before I introduce it I need to back up a few steps to show you why it's so neat. 

Here's a pair of Eversharp "Pacemakers" in blue, and an anodized black aluminum "white star guarantee" pencil from around 1940 . . .

NOTE:  This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.

To order, here's the link:  Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company